Fireworks - chickened out

I was on ground zero this year full clearance from the fire safety inspector and the city pyrotechnic crew (they even offered to have me sat with them at the firing box if i wanted to lol)

so 400ft up and 500ft out and if anything i was to close maybe
 
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Well I can tell you if you want to be legal and film close fireworks your going to be in them.
I started at 300ft and stopped a few feet give or take of the 400ft recommended restriction
and about half of the bursts were above me to well above me.
As I was already on overload:eek: due to flying off the boat at night, in winds 15-20 with a big thunderstorm moving in
I chose not to try any higher as winds aloft were already at times pushing me back.
I have to say I was gung ho but once I started seeing shrapnel flying all around my bird I did back off alittle and shot from a safer location
Hoping for better condition net year and then I will be ready to sacrifice a bird if needed as my other should be back from DJI by then( I hope :()
I have to say the scariest part was trying to hand catch it in 15mph winds in the dark on a rocking boat:eek::eek::eek:
Video to follow but here are some screen shots

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I agree but I pushed those odds this year. For the last two years I have filmed a friend of mine who has a display company. He does a small one near the seasonal camp I have. I tend to be pretty close to the hot zone as I have all-access to the entire area. Occasionally debris would pass my Phantom while filming the bigger display (I was at 325' and at least one of them went higher by at least 100'). There was a second display area for ground kegs. I was positioned in the middle of the two hot zones. The kegs were slightly upwind from me (very light breeze) and several of the cardboard tubes, some still live, landed all around me at one point. It really caught me off guard as I thought the breeze would carry them further to my right. No damage done and none were burning. While my Phantom was not above me but over to the side and out of the drop zone, I wondered what one of those tubes (1"x2") would of done if it hit a prop. I was only over trees & shrubs so at least no one was in danger except for my wallet! Hey, at least I remembered to tape those red lights up this time! :D
See and now with the P3 you can just turn them off:cool:
 
Here's a close up. I was flying while my friends where lighting the fireworks.

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A little easier to go into with home fireworks
hell the percussion from the ones I was filming from a ways out would take my video feed out for a second when they went off :eek:
Wonder how big the burning pieces are on the explosions if they did hit the props ??
 
A little easier to go into with home fireworks
hell the percussion from the ones I was filming from a ways out would take my video feed out for a second when they went off :eek:
Wonder how big the burning pieces are on the explosions if they did hit the props ??

Agree, my friends where the ones lighting them so I could see where they were going up from.

No damage at all to the P3
 
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A little easier to go into with home fireworks
hell the percussion from the ones I was filming from a ways out would take my video feed out for a second when they went off :eek:
Wonder how big the burning pieces are on the explosions if they did hit the props ??
you don't want to find out
 
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I never chickened out but had to find my safe distance. I was evaluating things here.



DJI_0001.00_00_07_12.Still001.jpg
 
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It was cool to see so many fireworks being launched in the area...
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The odds of being hit by a fireworks display are exceedingly small. The odds of such a hit damaging the drone are remarkably exceedingly small.
You always say that, so you obviously don't know how much damage a 3" mortar shell fired from a 3' launcher tube with enough velocity to free flight to 500' would do, it would totally destroy your puny little drone. And yes I know they are illegal, but Nevada is only 100 miles away and there seemed to be plenty of them being fired off, and from the description the OP gave that was the case in his area also. I for one applaud his decision, easy to say 'go for it' when it's not your P3 up there.
 
Well my motto has always been "the chicken always lives another day"
 
You always say that, so you obviously don't know how much damage a 3" mortar shell fired from a 3' launcher tube with enough velocity to free flight to 500' would do.

No doubt. Not to mention during this process it becomes dozens of exploding missiles. So your odds of getting hit by one is compounded as the number of exploding objects increase.
 
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Well I can tell you if you want to be legal and film close fireworks your going to be in them.
I started at 300ft and stopped a few feet give or take of the 400ft recommended restriction
and about half of the bursts were above me to well above me.
As I was already on overload:eek: due to flying off the boat at night, in winds 15-20 with a big thunderstorm moving in
I chose not to try any higher as winds aloft were already at times pushing me back.
I have to say I was gung ho but once I started seeing shrapnel flying all around my bird I did back off alittle and shot from a safer location
Hoping for better condition net year and then I will be ready to sacrifice a bird if needed as my other should be back from DJI by then( I hope :()
I have to say the scariest part was trying to hand catch it in 15mph winds in the dark on a rocking boat:eek::eek::eek:
Video to follow but here are some screen shots

View attachment 24074 View attachment 24075 View attachment 24076


Short Video up
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No doubt. Not to mention during this process it becomes dozens of exploding missiles. So your odds of getting hit by one is compounded as the number of exploding objects increase.
Yes, if you somehow find yourself in a direct line of fire from the main mortar, you will likely lose your drone. But most of the pretty trails of sparklies are the size of a pea or smaller. and they are falling, not fired like a grenade.

If flying near fireworks are so risky, then where's the crash reports? Where's the horrifying news reports? I just looked at Youtube and there were dozens of fireworks from a drone videos from this past weekend, and many of them up close and personal. I didn't find one where a drone was brought down by fireworks. Not even damaged.

Put your fear mongering in perspective. If there were a Youtube video of a drone being hit or brought down from fireworks, I might agree with you. If there were a news article about one of those terrifying contraptions falling near, not even into, a crowd after being hit with a fireworks, you might see me agreeing with you. Where is the evidence that a drone has ever been brought down by fireworks?
 
Here's a close up. I was flying while my friends where lighting the fireworks.

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14 seconds? did you get shot down?
 
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Well I can tell you if you want to be legal and film close fireworks your going to be in them.
I started at 300ft and stopped a few feet give or take of the 400ft recommended restriction
and about half of the bursts were above me to well above me.
As I was already on overload:eek: due to flying off the boat at night, in winds 15-20 with a big thunderstorm moving in
I chose not to try any higher as winds aloft were already at times pushing me back.
I have to say I was gung ho but once I started seeing shrapnel flying all around my bird I did back off alittle and shot from a safer location
Hoping for better condition net year and then I will be ready to sacrifice a bird if needed as my other should be back from DJI by then( I hope :()
I have to say the scariest part was trying to hand catch it in 15mph winds in the dark on a rocking boat:eek::eek::eek:
Video to follow but here are some screen shots

View attachment 24074 View attachment 24075 View attachment 24076
you got the best video and snap shots
 
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Mission Viejo Ball Park /Lake
uncut and unedited

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